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Saturday 2nd March 2002
2.30 p.m.
Tithe Barn, Rectory Road

To Inform Parishioners of the Proposed

Mineral (Sand/Gravel) Extracting Schemes

Within The Parish Boundaries

All Welcome

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Norfolk County Council Martineau Lane Norwich 11th February, 2002.

Dear Sirs,

Ref: Proposed Tarmac gravel extraction - Stanninghall.

I note with some perplexity the fact that you would appear to be at the point of considering an application from Tarmac to uproot the countryside and distort the life of the people who live in this area.

You must be aware that heavy lorry traffic through the villages of Horstead and Coltishall will be greatly increased and that traffic on the main Norwich arterial road will be augmented to the point where serious bottlenecks may occur, especially on the ring road roundabout into Norwich.

The Horstead/Coltishall road bridge is hardly able to keep pace with the existing traffic and is, I believe, the subject of a weight restriction. Would you please confirm whether this is the case and if so, what plans you may have, commensurate with such planning proposals, to increase this limit or to reinforce or widen the bridge?

You have consistently refused to initiate any form of traffic calming thought the villages concerned, to the point where you have steadfastly ignored the requests of the villagers to install either a zebra crossing or a Belisha Beacon. The road through the villages, especially opposite the Island Filling Station, is horribly dangerous. The reason why more fatalities or accidents have not occurred is probably more due to the nimble footedness

of the school children who cross there than to the sensible driving habits of those who use the road or your actions to protect them.

Quite apart from the impending chaos on the roads and the extra danger that will be caused, especially in winter, because of the inevitable increase in water and mud. Car windscreens will become dirtier than is normal or to be reasonably expected, leading to dangerous driving conditions. These will be exacerbated when freezing conditions prevail. None but the panel beaters, not the rescue services, will thank you.

I understand that this region is a conservation area of outstanding natural beauty, a catchment for tourists who play a major role in the summer time economy. Is it reasonable or sensible to justify the granting of planning permission for such a project when it does no good to any person living or visiting the area in which the proposed detrimental activities will take place?

It is interesting to note that no-one is even beating that hackneyed old drum about reduction in unemployment. It really does seems to me as though this entire exercise is another example of the wishes of the many being subjugated for the greed of a few.

The political ramifications should also be born in mind because although the present transport minister is in favour of new town developments, for which I imagine Tarmac needs a lot of gravel; thereby further contributing to the demise of the agricultural and rustic environment; he is soon to be retired. The political rumour is that he is to be removed; elevated would not be the mot juste, to the Lords. The political winds of change are afoot and if you do acquiesce to Tarmac's proposal you will offend a great many people both in this area and without.

I think that you should reflect quite hard on your decision. If you decide to grant Tarmac the permission which they desire then you surely must have a considerable duty of care to those living within the area to be affected by the gravel works, its peripheral and collateral damage as a consequence of your verdict.

There can be absolutely no point in accepting as anything other than a load of old baloney, any assurances given by business operators engaged in such activities as this. It would, however, be useful to have made public, preferably at, or before a board of enquiry, the names and addresses and interest exposure of all involved in Tarmac and its sidereal operators who might stand to benefit from this proposed rural intrusion.

I hope that you will consider the pending application from Tarmac in an unfavourable light. I would be interested to know what liabilities might devolve on the local authorities concerned due to accidents or mishaps arising from such gravel extraction activities and related consequences. We who live in these villages will no longer be inconvenienced by local traffic; a necessity of life, I fear; but we will find ourselves dumped slap bang in the midst of a quarrying and construction access system. This will lead to dangerous conditions, reduced tourism, depressed economy, slumping house prices and an overall degradation of local life. Would you have this so? The act of disappointing a construction company is not heinous. The alternative to such an action would, I feel sure, prove to be extraordinarily short sighted.

Yours truly,
Roderick Bromley

Norfolk County Council County Hall
Martineau Lane Norwich
Norfolk
4th February 2002

REF: ENV/C/5/200l/5005

Dear Sir,

I wish to register my objection to the proposed sand and gravel extraction site at Grange Farm in Horstead.

My concern is with the amount of traffic, especially lorries, that this will undoubtedly cause.

The villages of Horstead, Buxton and Coltishall are in conservation areas. These local roads were never designed to take the volume of traffic they must tolerate at the moment, and could certainly not cope with any increase in traffic.

There are three areas of specific concern:

1. Coltishall bridge

2. The sharp left hand bend at the Island Garage

3. The High Street/Church Street section.

This will cause increased traffic congestion and possibly result in accidents. More importantly, the safety of pedestrians will be severely compromised, especially at area 3.

I do not feel that major restructuring of the roads in question is in the best interests of these villages, (although I do note that this has not apparently been planned as a safety measure).

I hope that The Council and Longwater Gravel Company Ltd. will see that, if planning permission is granted at this site, every care is taken to ensure there is no increase in lorry traffic through the village of Coltishall.

I would also like to make it clear, that as a resident of Coltishall, living on the main road where I could particularly be affected by this proposed site, I did not receive a letter of notification from Tarmac.

Fortunately I found out about this proposed site through The Marlpit, the magazine for the villages of Horstead, Coltishall and Hautbois.

Yours faithfully

Dr Suzanne Hogg

cc
Tarmac Southern Ltd.
Long water Gravel Company Ltd.
Mr Keith Simpson MP
The Eastern Daily Press

Parish Council Meeting - 13th February 2002

Thank You - To all who responded with letters concerning Longwater Gravel, TARMAC, and Centre Hatching in Hall Lane/Norwich Road area. There are far too many to acknowledge individually.

Mineral (Sand/Gravel) Extraction Schemes

Unfortunately a certain amount of confusion has arisen owing to the close proximity of the articles on pages 7, 8, and 9 of last months Marlpit.

There are two completely separate proposals - the first being a planning application by Longwater Gravel at Grange Farm, Horstead - Reference No. ENV/C/2001/5005 for a ten year contract excavating 50,000 tonnes per year, with an estimated number of 13 lorries leaving the site each day which means 26 lorry movements per day.

The second is a proposal by Tarmac on Norwich Road, Horstead - at the time of writing (13th February, copy date for March Marlpit) Tarmac have not made formal application although it is understood they plan to put this forward by the end of February. This application will be for twenty years with an estimated number 75 lorries leaving the site each day meaning 150 lorry movements per day.

A public meeting has been arranged to discuss both these proposals on Saturday 2nd March - See separate notice - Everyone is welcome - You don't have to live in Horstead.

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Celebrations - We are still waiting for suggestions for celebrating this event. How about some ideas about how you would like to spend this special day.

Casual Vacancy for Parish Councillor - If you are interested in being co-opted onto the parish council please apply in writing to the address below.

Horstead Playing Field Fund - Tickets are now available for this event - see separate notice.

Next Meeting - March 13th in the Tithe Barn as usual

Christine Roe, Clerk
Landfall, Norwich Road, Horstead. NR12 7EQ Tel: 01603 738804